BCCI discusses Ryan ten Doeschate and Morne Morkel’s future as Team India coaches; T Dilip under fire

Indian cricket team head coach Gautam Gambhir, team bowling coach Morne Morkel, team assistant coach Ryan Ten Doeschate and player Ravindra Jadeja (ANI Photo) New Delhi: The Indian Cricket Board (BCCI) may have to work overtime to put the Indian team’s support staff in order after the ongoing tour of England ends. TOI understands that assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate and fast bowling coach Morne Morkel are considering moving on from their roles once their contracts expire after the ODI series in England this month. “Doeschate is not too sure about continuing in the job. He has communicated his issues with traveling with the team throughout the year. Morkel is still weighing his options. The board is discussing the matter with both coaches and will try to see if things can be worked out,” a BCCI source told TOI. The Indian team is scheduled to leave for Sri Lanka for a two-Test series in the first week of August. Center of Excellence (CoE) head of cricket VVS Laxman will take his CoE coaching team with him for India’s three-match T20I series in Zimbabwe in the last week of July. Sources said Doeschate may be in talks with an IPL franchise, while Morkel has not said anything firm yet. The two coaches were handpicked by head coach Gautam Gambhir when he took charge in July 2024. BCCI has always supported support staff who have gone through its coaching program at the CoE. Abhishek Nayar was replaced by Sitanshu Kotak as the batting coach last year. If things don’t work out with Doeschat and Morkel, the BCCI may be forced to send Lakshmipathy Balaji, who was recently appointed as the CoE’s fast bowling coach, to Sri Lanka. Coach in the field under fire TOI also learned that fielding coach T Dilip is under pressure to save his job. The board is unhappy with the deteriorating standards of the fielding team. Dilip got a reprieve last year after he was kicked out along with Nayar.